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HMS VALOROUS

Click on the links within this brief outline for first hand accounts by the men who served on HMS Valorous and for a more detailed chronolgy see www.naval-history.net

HMS Valorous was intended to be named HMS Montrose but this was changed to Valorous before launch in 1917. After service in the Baltic and in the Mediterranean she was placed in Reserve. As part of the naval re-armament Programme in 1938 Valorous was selected for conversion to an Anti-Aircraft Escort (WAIR) by HM Dockyard Chatham. At the outbeak of war she became part of the Rosyth Escort Force for East Coast convoys from Methil on the Firth of Forth to Sheerness on the Thames estuary. This period is described by 95 year old Arthur Bulmer who joined her as a 20 year old Able Seaman on 14 June 1941.

In May 1945 HMS Valorous and HMS Venomous were sent to Kristiansand South to accept the surrender of German naval forces, Operation Conan. Lt Cdr J.A.J. Dennis RN was the senior officer in Valorous and Lord Teynham, the designated Naval Officer in Command (NOIC) Kristiansand was in Valorous. The unpublished wartime memoir of Dennis is in the IWM but click on the link to read his description of events at Kristiansand. John Garforth, an AB on Valorous, gives his account below.

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Commanding Officers

Lt Cdr Edward Mack RN (August 1939 - Jan 1942)
Lt Cdr William Wentworth FitzRoy RN (Jan – August 1942)
Lt Cdr Hedworth Lambton RN (March – May 1943)
Capt Lennox Albert Knox Boswell RN (Jan – Feb 1941)
Lt Cdr J A J Dennis DSC RN (Dec 1944 - May 1945)

Officers

When I joined Valorous I was detailed "starboard watch" on "B- Gun", the twin 4-inch right forard below the bridge and looking over the forecastle. I was in the forard messdeck, right side next to the chain locker and when they dropped the hook (anchor) it made such a noise! It was also next to the paint locker so smelled of paint all the time. The mess deck was very small with tables down each side with lockers as seats. Water drained from the deck heads into the bilges and rushed across the mess deck

Lord Teynham going shore in "Greggo's" launch to meet the "powers that be" on arrival at Kristiansand
Courtesy of Alan Dennis

Little did I know that I was to follow him ashore with two other shipmates to take over a large building from the Stappo (Norwegian police working for the Germans, we were told that they were worse than the Germans). The large building, was made up of several flats, with telephone exchange, teleprinter, armoury, laundry etc in the basement. On arrival the building was almost empty of inhabitants, but there was plenty of crockery, utensils and other equipment, even Luger pistols. Instead of taking a flat each, the three of us chose a flat and moved in together, combing the other flats for the best equipment. We settled in and took a watch each on the telephone exchange which had been defunk for some time. We soon began to get plenty of calls, not knowing if they were Norwegian, German or whatever. After a day we were pleased to see three army lads of the Welsh Regiment. Then came the S.A.S. with Paddy Maine and other officers living in the upper flats. They were dropping empty beer bottles down on to the jeeps parked below and down the central staircase. The building also had a lift.

After a few days the army lads came in with bottles of German rum, Schnapps and red wine which we made into a punch by putting a large bowl on the stove filling it with red wine, well sugared, with rum and schnapps then heated it up. We then invited girl friend who had befriended us, some of which I found out later had been Quislings. One of the Welsh lads had a girl in his flat and kept her locked in, she did get out one day and went round the building looking for this guy with a Luger in her hand. She was confronted by an officer. He was put on a charge and was never seen again.   Soon the people of Kristiansand learned of the cache of booze and we were pestered into selling them a bottle or two, only to be invited to a party and help them to drink it! I remember that at one party the Norge started play acting, some of the plays were rather crude.

After a week or two of walking around the town, I somehow met a chap, who, after talking about football, took me behind the counter of a bank, where we organised the first football match to be played in Norway since the war. It was HMS Valorous versus the Milorg. It was England versus Norway. The captains exchanged flowers and even though we won 2-1 we were all treated to what was available, there was very little available in those days.

On May 17th which was the national day in Norway, I was sitting on watch with steel safety doors and grid open to footpath level, it was a nice night, when a beautiful girl put her head in and asked if she could come in, no doubt she had been in before, for when a Milorg sentry, who had been watching from across the street came across, she ran off holding her head in her hands. They used to cut off their hair if they fraternised.

The building across the road was the headquarters of the underground movement, this was the address that Grego had given me on that first day. Finding a gramophone in the basement and borrowing records from the ship, we organised the first dance in the Soldatenheim (soldiers home) which was not more than forty yards away. I must say that I was being well victualled from the ship and also by the army. While sitting there having a meal, two of our army friends brought in a German SS Captain dressed up as a corporal, he came in so humble, took off his cap and put it on the table, which was instantly thrown to the floor saying "You don't put caps on tables" then gave him the job of scrubbing the tables and removing crumbs from the groves with a toothbrush.

Sitting in the dining room playing records people began coming in and started dancing, then in walked Grego (on left) with two women, one of them was Kari the other was his wife. I immediately asked Kari to dance and asked if she remembered me, she did, we danced all night. When it was all over, Grego took us to the back of the soldiers home where the big launch was moored. We were soon under way going up the fjords taking it in turns at the helm, drinking and firing very lights into the sky. I do not recollect if I returned to my place of work that night!! Soon after visiting Kari and her nurse friend at their flat and being plied with Danish bacon, butter etc. it was time to leave Kristiansand and come down to earth, or should I say water? Back to Valorous and back to England.